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and the children's school. I don't know what keeping the city's sick residents in hospital costs; but outsiders, for example sailors from visiting ships, are charged very high rates - a dollar and a half a day. On the other hand education is provided to those desirous of it for next to nothing: children of both sexes and of any social class coming to the school only pay a dollar a year.
For the transference of commercial, political and other information within the colony, three papers are published here, coming out once or twice a week; and once a month the most important news is reprinted in a special publication (the Overland China Mail) for communication to other parts of the world. Commercial advertisements in these papers are published both in English and Chinese.
Finally I consider it my duty to express my gratitude to the people of Hong Kong, for their hospitality and consideration, extended to us during our internment. I arrived in Hong Kong before my other comrades in internment, with only my midshipman Kovalevsky: this was on the 29th September. Released on our word of honour we had only just stepped ashore when we were met by Mr. Borrows, an American businessman, who having invited us to his home did indeed manage to make us feel at home. After that we received an invitation from the 59th Regiment stationed here, not only for lunch on a particular day but to be permanent guests at their table. It goes without saying that we declined the latter but during lunch the gentlemen officers were courteous to the degree of not a single word being said concerning military events or that could have been remotely connected to our situation. This circumstance might seem trivial to some; but we were in a particular frame of mind then, and till this day I remember it clearly. Soon after this the club, the reading library were open to us - and this without any hint on our part, but only through the attentiveness of our hosts. At first I didn't think of presenting myself to the governor, fearing a confrontation with the authorities; but I was soon convinced that Sir John Bowring was nothing like Admiral SIR JAMES STIRLING, who during the course of our internment did not even deign to glance at one of our officers. I won't list all our friends in Hong Kong, but will say, that all the inhabitants, it seemed to us, were inspired with the one desire: to make our involuntary stay with them, pleasant.
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and the children's school. I don't know what keeping the city's sick residents in hospital costs; but outsiders, for example sailors from vis- iting ships, are charged very high rates - a dollar and a half a day. On the other hand education is provided to those desirous of it for next to nothing: children of both sexes and of any social class coming to the school only pay a dollar a year.
For the transference of commercial, political and other informa- tion within the colony, three papers are published here, coming out once or twice a week; and once a month the most important news is reprinted in a special publication (the Overland China Mail) for com- munication to other parts of the world. Commercial advertisements in these papers are published both in English and Chinese.
Finally I consider it my duty to express my gratitude to the people of Hong Kong, for their hospitality and consideration, extended to us during our internment. I arrived in Hong Kong before my other com- rades in interment, with only my midshipman Kovalevsky: this was on the 29th September. Released on our word of honour we had only just stepped ashore when we were met by Mr. Borrows, an American businessman, who having invited us to his home did indeed manage to make us feel at home. After that we received an invitation from the 59th Regiment stationed here, not only for lunch on a particular day but to be permanent guests at their table. It goes without saying that we declined the latter but during lunch the gentlemen officers were courte- ous to the degree of not a single word being said concerning military events or that could have been remotely connected to our situation. This circumstance might seem trivial to some; but we were in a par- ticular frame of mind then, and till this day I remember it clearly. Soon after this the club, the reading library were open to us - and this with- out any hint on our part, but only through the attentiveness of our hosts. At first I didn't think of presenting myself to the governor, fearing a confrontation with the authorities; but I was soon convinced that Sir John Bowring was nothing like Admiral SIR JAMES STIRLING, who during the course of our internment did not even deign to glance at one of our officers. I won't list all our friends in Hong Kong, but will say, that all the inhabitants, it seemed to us, were inspired with the one desire: to make our involuntary stay with them, pleasant.
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